零浪費：更簡單的時尚

Anna+Tyzack

近來，極簡主義風盛行。人們追隨這股風潮，有意識地減少物質需求，擯棄生活中無用之物，將所擁有物品一次次精簡，從而專注于生命里真正重要的事情。對于這種生活方式的先驅，我們最熟悉的可能是“斷舍離”概念的創始人山下英子和家政女王近藤麻理惠，對倡導“零浪費”的貝亞·約翰遜不甚了解。其實，貝亞的“零浪費”不僅含有精簡，更多了一層環保的意義，即把浪費降到最低。作為環保衛士的她是如何做到的呢？我們一起來看。

貝亞·約翰遜那位于加州的純白色的家，將極簡主義發揮到了全新的極致。甚至找不到一個麥片盒來破壞這里的美感。櫥柜里排列著一塵不染的玻璃密封罐，水槽下只有一瓶白醋。樓上，貝亞十幾歲兒子們的臥室中，衣柜里放著四小摞疊好的衣服、自行車、棒球頭盔，以及一個手提箱。

作為母親和公司職員的妻子——貝亞的丈夫斯考特在一家軟件公司上班——貝亞竟能令家里精簡到如此程度，著實令人費解。即使家政專家近藤麻理惠閣下也沒有精簡到這個程度。但出生于法國的貝亞自2008年起在家倡導“零浪費生活”法，如今已取得了不俗的成績。

去年，貝亞用一個半升的罐子就能把他們一家全年的家庭垃圾裝下。“現在生活如此簡單;我無法想象回到過去的生活方式的樣子，”她說，“我們生活中的選擇并沒有變少，因為更具創意，我們的選擇反而比以前更多了。”

踩著六英寸的高跟鞋，穿著皮褲，貝亞看上去不像一名環保戰士。“我不是嬉皮士，”她說，“在開始這種生活方式之前，我注射肉毒桿菌，帶假指甲，把頭發染成芭比娃娃那樣的金色。”但貝亞通過倡導基于5R原則的“零浪費”生活、更新個人博客以及后續出書，掀起了一場全球運動，5R原則包括拒絕（refuse）不需要的東西，減少（reduce）需求，重復使用（reuse）消費品，剩下的東西回收（recycle）或埋起來堆肥（rot）。受她啟發，英國現在有了“零浪費”餐廳和一年一度的“零浪費周”。“一開始人們指責我們是虧待孩子的留長發的嬉皮士，而現在幾乎每周都有攝制組到家里采訪。”貝亞說。

約翰遜一家從徹頭徹尾的美式家庭向“零浪費生活”先驅轉變的過程不是一蹴而就的。貝亞18歲到美國做換工保姆，她承認自己曾深陷以超大冰箱和多功能越野車為代表的美國夢。她說，二十出頭嫁給斯考特后，自己成了典型的足球媽媽。他們住在郊區的大房子里，把兩個孩子馬克思和利奧送到私立學校念書。

六年前，他們賣掉原來的房子，準備到舊金山米爾谷高檔社區買一所小一點的住宅。“我們租住在一個狹小的公寓里，將大部分物品寄存起來，”貝亞說，“大家完全沒有想念那些東西。我們在生活中為最重要的事情留出了空間：花時間在一起，遠足，野餐。”

一旦在新家安頓下來，貝亞就決定將家庭生活方式的重心從“擁有”變為“生存和體驗”。她拒絕商品包裝，并著手將家用物資減到最少。“我們只用過自己擁有物品中的20%，”她解釋道，“其他都是為‘如果準備的：如果我瘦了，如果我要面試，如果我要參加化裝舞會。”

精簡的過程很花費心思，但打扮入時并以時尚引以為傲的貝亞，目前只有六雙鞋、七件上衣、七條褲子、兩條短裙和一條小黑裙。她沒有想念自己賣掉的訂婚大戒指和傳家寶。

當然，在早期，她的“零浪費”法令遭遇過抵抗，不是來自兩個孩子——他們年齡尚小還不在乎——而是來自斯考特。他抱怨妻子執意從昂貴的農夫市場買未加包裝的食物，也為自己的運動器材遭精簡而大發牢騷。

然而，當看到第一年家庭支出下降了40%，斯考特態度變了。“那之后他就完全支持我了。”貝亞說。

因為決意不讓一個商品包裝進家門，貝亞會花上幾天時間把買回的無包裝食物裝進瓶瓶罐罐，還嘗試自己制作化妝品。

貝亞承認，并非所有嘗試都是成功的：例如用小蘇打和蘋果醋洗頭。“斯考特告訴我，他覺得我聞起來像油醋沙拉汁，這一點也不性感。”還有一次，她為了能有安吉麗娜·朱莉式的豐唇而用帶刺的蕁麻擦嘴唇，結果弄出了水泡。

不過，現在她玩轉了“零浪費生活”。她用可可粉作腮紅，用甜菜汁涂嘴唇——大家都說她看起來更年輕了——但她購買洗浴用品，只不過都是“零垃圾”版本的。她買兩美元一塊的無包裝肥皂來洗頭發和身體，選用未漂白的再生廁紙（雖然不是百分之百“零浪費”，但這已經是最好的選擇了，她說）。

過著自己倡導的這種節儉生活，不會無趣嗎？貝亞拼命搖頭。她堅稱，大多數時候，她的朋友們都尊重她的生活方式，正如自己尊重他們的生活方式一樣——外出就餐時她也會愉快地喝瓶子里倒出來的酒。

與此同時，家庭生活變得比以往更豐富多彩：家人有更多的時間在一起，孩子們也很快樂。“我們不送他們圣誕禮物，但也不能說他們受了虧待，”她說，“他們都有智能手機，而且我們剛剛在加勒比海待了三個星期，還會一起去日本。不用太為他們感到難過。”

貝亞不確定馬克斯和利奧長大以后會不會過“零浪費生活”，但她希望用玻璃罐裝下一年垃圾的例子讓孩子們知道，沒有浪費也能過上美好生活。把自己“從‘物中解放出來，”她說，“就能專注于真正重要的事情。”

Bea Johnsons all-white Californian home takes minimalism to a stark new level. Theres not so much as a cereal1） box to ruin the aesthetic2）. Immaculate3） rows of glass kilner jars4） line the larder and under the kitchen sink is a single bottle of white vinegar. Upstairs， in Beas teenage sons bedrooms， the wardrobes contain four meagre piles of folded clothes， bike and baseball helmets， and a suitcase.

Quite how a mother and corporate housewife—Beas husband， Scott， works for a software company—has got away with such extreme decluttering is baffling5）. Not even Marie Kondo， the High Priestess of Tidiness， takes paring6） back this far. But Bea， who is French by birth， has been pioneering a zero waste existence for her family since 2008 with impressive results.

Last year she was able to fit the familys annual domestic waste into a half litre jar. “Life is so simple now; I cant imagine going back to the way we used to live，” she says. “We dont have fewer options in life， we have more because we are more creative.”

In her six-inch heels and leather trousers， Bea cuts7） an unlikely eco warrior. “Im no hippy8），” she says. “Before I started this I was having Botox9）， wearing fake nails and dying my hair Barbie blonde.” But her waste-free lifestyle， based around five Rs—refuse what you dont need， reduce what you need， reuse what you consume and recycle or rot （ie compost） the rest—and her blog and subsequent book have inspired a global movement. Its thanks to her that Britain now has waste-free restaurants and an annual Zero Waste Week. “Initially we were accused of being hairy hippies who deprive10） our kids but now we have film crews visiting our home almost every week，” Bea says.

The Johnsons transformation from all-American family to Zero Waste pioneers didnt happen overnight. Bea， who came to America as an au pair11） aged 18， admits she was sucked in by the American dream of enormous refrigerators and SUVs. After marrying Scott in her early twenties she became， she says， the ultimate soccer mum12）. They lived in a large house in the suburbs and sent Max and Leo to private schools.

Then， six years ago， they sold up to buy a smaller home in Mill Valley， an upmarket San Francisco neighbourhood. “We lived in a tiny rented apartment with most possessions in storage，” Bea says. “We didnt miss our things at all. We had space in our lives for what mattered most： spending time together， hiking， picnics.”

Once installed in their new home， she resolved to change the emphasis of their lifestyle from one of “having” to one of “being and experiencing.” She banished packaging and set about editing the familys possessions to the bare minimum. “We only ever use 20 per cent of what we have，” she explains. “The rest is for the ‘what ifs： What if I lose weight， what if I have an interview， what if Im going to a fancy dress party.”

The process took a lot of reflection but Bea， who prides herself on looking chic， now owns six pairs of shoes， seven tops， seven trousers， two skirts and a little black dress. She hasnt missed her enormous engagement ring or the family heirlooms13） she sold.

Naturally her waste-free edict met resistance early on， not so much from the boys， who were too young to care， but from Scott who complained about his wifes obsession with buying food in bulk14） from expensive farmers markets. He also moaned about scaling down his sporting equipment.

When he saw their household expenditure dropping by 40 per cent in the first year， however， he changed his mind. “After that he was totally on board15），” Bea says.

Determined not to let a single package through the door， Bea spent days canning and jarring bulk bought food and experimented with making her own make-up.

Not everything worked out， she admits： washing her hair in baking soda and cider vinegar， for example. “Scott told me he didnt find it sexy that I smelt like vinaigrette16）.” Another time she rubbed stinging nettles on her lips for an Angelina-style pout17） and ended up with blisters18）.

Now， though， shes got Zero Waste living sussed19）. She uses cocoa powder as blusher20） and beetroot21） juice to brighten her lips—and has been told she looks younger—but buys in waste-free versions of toiletries22）. A two-dollar unpackaged soap bar for washing hair and body， and recycled， unbleached23） loo paper （not 100 per cent waste-free but the best option， she says）.

Is it not joyless to live in such self-inflicted24） austerity？ Bea shakes her head， manically. For the most part her friends respect her lifestyle， she insists， just as she respects theirs—shell happily drink wine poured from a bottle when she goes out for dinner.

Meanwhile family life is richer than ever： They have more time together and their children are happy. “We dont give them Christmas presents but Id hardly describe them as deprived，” she says. “They have smartphones and weve just been in the Caribbean for three weeks. Were about to go to Japan together. Dont feel too sorry for them.”

Bea isnt sure if Max and Leo will adopt a Zero Waste lifestyle when theyre older， but she hopes her glass jar of yearly rubbish has shown them that its possible to live a beautiful life without waste. “If you can free yourself from ‘things，” she says， “you can focus on what really matters.”